


Cozytober 2020, AmeZel Edition

by Nehszriah



Category: Slayers (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, Cozytober, Emotional Constipation, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lina is a bad wingman, Love Confessions, Mostly Fluff, Post-Canon, Prompt Fic, Some angst, and Amelia loves to jump to conclusions, cozytober2020, rated T to give me some wiggle room but the first chapter is at least G, thanks to how Zel ages he can be twenty-somethings with Amelia and I love it, will add more tags as time goes on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26804401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nehszriah/pseuds/Nehszriah
Summary: A series of short fics inspired by a prompt set from seasaltsketches on Instagram.Days 1-4: LeavesDays 5-8: CoffeeDays 9-12: BookDays 13-16: BakeryDays 17-20: BroomDays 21-24: ForestDays 25-28: SunsetDays 29-31: Pumpkin
Relationships: Zelgadis Greywords & Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, Zelgadis Greywords/Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Long story short: I came across a prompt set for October this year that’s very chill and laid back, so I decided to try my hand at it. Each prompt is for a couple days and you can find it on Instagram via seasaltsketches.
> 
> 921 words; probably takes place somewhere after the end of TRY (I liked it; please don’t hate me), assuming the gang all makes it back to Seyruun and then chills for a little while before dispersing, though it is open to interpretation; look out world, it’s 2020 and Nehs is writing multiple Slayers fics again; yes I have other projects but at least this is a bit more short-term and thing and can be nice and bite-sized

Research, research, research.

It was always about _research_.

Amelia frowned as she watched Zelgadis from across the palace courtyard, watching him barely glance up from his book as he took notes diligently. Lina was sitting next to her on the bench as they took in the early autumn weather, with the warm sun and brisk wind, casually snacking on a hand pie she had swiped from the kitchens. It was a quiet moment to enjoy, and that was all.

“Miss Lina?” The one in-question glanced over, waiting for the rest. “Has Mister Zelgadis always been like this?”

“Huh? Like what?”

“Constantly reading, researching, you know… ignoring everything else? Everyone else?”

“Been like that since I met him,” Lina shrugged. “You have to remember, Amelia: Zel is a man on a mission. It doesn’t matter that he’s gone through the entire palace library twice, because to him, there could still be a clue that he’s overlooking.”

“Of course he’s overlooking things, but are they the things he thinks he’s missing?”

Lina smirked between bites of pie. “That’s a little heavy for you there, Amelia. You feeling okay?”

“You think I’m being silly!”

“No—but I think you’re being painfully obvious.” She tried not to be smug as she popped the last remnants of the pie into her mouth. “Think of his research as his commitment to justice. How right and just would it be for him to let Rezo just get away with the crime of human experimentation in chimeric research? To reverse it is to right the wrong, bring justice, even if it’s not what we’d consider justice.”

“I guess… but he’s still shutting himself off from everyone, always reading alone, doing his research alone, even though we’re right here. We _are_ his friends, aren’t we?”

“That’s a little tougher to say…” Lina pondered that for a moment, which only served to unnerve Amelia.

“What do you mean by that, Miss Lina?!” the princess gasped. “Are you saying that Mister Zelgadis could possibly _not_ be our friend?!”

“Now Amelia, I wasn’t saying that…!”

“Mister Zelgadis! Mister Zelgadis!”

It was too late—Amelia had jumped up from the bench and ran across the lawn, leaving Lina behind. She jogged up to Zelgadis, who still had his nose in his book and had not seen the worried expression on her face.

“Mister Zelgadis!”

“What is it, Amelia?”

“You _are_ our friend, right?”

As his vision rose, so did his eyebrow.

“What makes you say that?” He saw she was close to tears, with Lina trying to look inconspicuous from the other side of the courtyard. “What did Lina say?”

“I asked her if we are your friends and she said it was tough to say! What does she mean by that?!”

The chimera processed that for a quick moment and frowned. “Why were you asking _Lina_ whether or not you’re my friends?” Amelia faltered.

“Well… erm…”

“That doesn’t sound very much like an ally of justice, Amelia, talking behind someone’s back like that.”

“Don’t tease me!” she pouted. “I’m just worried about you, and asked Miss Lina a rhetorical question about us being friends, her answer to which made it sound like she knows that we’re not _really_ friends! Which is it?!”

“…and why are you worried about me?”

“You’ve barely talked to us today, but that’s the third time you’ve gone through that book! You’re shutting us out!”

“Gourry’s had even less contact with us today,” he noted.

“Well, yeah, but Mister Gourry probably just got lost, like normal. You don’t get lost… not here.”

“…and why do you think I don’t?”

Pausing, Amelia considered that. She noticed that Zelgadis really hadn’t taken his eyes off her the entire conversation, the expression on his face one that was even and certain.

“…uh… you’re smarter and have a better sense of direction…?”

“Generally speaking, that’s not difficult when your competition is _Gourry_ , but haven’t you considered that maybe I’m good at finding my way around the Seyruun Palace—with all its odd, maze-like corridors to help set up the central ward of the city’s barrier charms—because I might like it here?”

“You really do…?” she gasped. “Truly?!” He blushed at that.

“Well… yeah…” He coughed and tried to go back to his book, but it was no use: Amelia attacked him in a hug, knocking the book out of his hands and the paper and pen off his knee. She pulled back for a moment and they made eye contact again, except now realizing how close they were. Both their faces went red and they froze, with her straddling his lap and his hands having somehow found their way to rest atop her thighs… until…

As if by providence (or possibly some nearby magical force; no one confessed to the crime later on), a leaf fell from the tree—orange and golden in color—and smacked Amelia in the face, causing her to stumble off of Zelgadis and onto the grass. She sputtered as she pulled the leaf away, part of it having gotten in her mouth.

“Oh! Gross! What was that?!” she shuddered.

“Just nature,” he replied dully. Zelgadis caught sight of Lina cackling at them out of the corner of his eye—apparently they were _hilarious_ to watch. He instead held out his hand and snapped his fingers, a spell instantly heading over to her, catching her by the boots and pulling up, hanging her upside down in what quickly became a fit of rage.

Guess who was laughing now?


	2. Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1187 words; stick this in some early NEXT filler or something; just sort of a nice moment—not writing anything too major here

It had already been an interesting series of events, by any stretch of the imagination. Unable to rest properly thanks to a rather persistent—and scarily competent—group of bandits, the small group of travelers shuffled their way into a village ready to fall over. With Lina and Gourry being their typical, over-dramatic selves, it was again on Amelia and Zelgadis to not only find a place that could handle the ridiculous demand for food, but had a place for them all to sleep as well. They were able to find something—a pub that had a certain reputation for being able to satisfy even the oddest of patrons—which allowed their genius sorceress and idiot swordsman amongst them to get straight to work.

“Keep it coming!” Lina shouted after demolishing her eleventh dinner. The waiter feebly confirmed and slunk off, leaving the group to themselves. With Lina and Gourry devouring everything they could, it seemed a miracle no one was staring at them in awe and terror. Then again, it was likely that they weren’t the only travelling group to come through that month with a large appetite… just usually it took more people to put away this much food. “I wonder what was with those guys these past two weeks. They just wouldn’t give it up!”

“At least you can say they came prepared,” Zelgadis mentioned. “I think we should almost be concerned about those wards and shields they had.” He ate a bit of his food and frowned—just because he was _used_ to Lina and Gourry’s gluttonous ways did not mean he _approved_. “They were clearly using spells out of their class… way out of their class. I’d want to know how they got hold of them.”

“You worry too much, Zel,” Gourry said around his food. “Lina spooked ‘em; I think they’re gone for good.”

“I hope you’re right, Mister Gourry,” Amelia sighed as she picked at the last of her dinner. “It would be very bad if they came back with something worse.”

“If those idiots try again, then they will get _exactly_ what’s coming to them,” Lina warned.

“Then why didn’t they stop after the first time you Fireballed them to a crisp?” Zelgadis wondered. Lina shot him a glare that made him chuckle. “Oooh, did I find the nerve?”

“I didn’t see _you_ jumping into action. Didn’t you just stand aside and let me do all the heavy lifting?”

“I need to save my energy for a real emergency,” he said. With his plate clean, he pushed his chair away and stood. “I’m headed up—you three do what you want.”

“Suit yourself,” Lina scoffed. She and Gourry continued to eat, barely acknowledging when the waiter came back with more food. “He’s being a real ray of sunshine. What’s eating at Zel?”

“I dunno—he seemed distracted all week,” Gourry said, voice muffled by potatoes. “Do you think maybe he found something?”

“Maybe, maybe not…” Lina noticed that Amelia was still poking at her food and snapped her fingers in front of the other girl’s face. “Hey, Amelia, what’s the matter with you?”

“Oh, nothing Miss Lina,” she said, her attention coming back to focus. “I’m just thinking about going home."

“Home…? We still need to figure out what Xellos is doing in regards to the Claire Bible,” Lina stated. “We’re headed to Seyruun anyhow, so why worry?”

“I’m not worried… just thinking…” Out of the corner of her eye, Amelia saw the pub owner serving another guest some coffee and she had an idea. “You two can finish up; I think I’ll go upstairs too.”

“Suit yourself,” Lina said. She and Gourry continued eating as Amelia walked over towards the serving bar. The pub owner regarded her carefully, not entirely certain of what he thought of people who would travel with _those bottomless pits_.

“A pot of coffee and two cups, please,” she asked.

“Getting it now before those two swallow it all up?”

“Oh, no, Miss Lina and Mister Gourry don’t like coffee that much—not unless they have to stay awake,” Amelia said, laughing it off. She got the coffee and cups—along with cream and sugar—on a serving tray, sneaking past Lina and Gourry’s line of vision towards the stairs.

Aha! Success! The door to Zelgadis’s room was creaked open just a little bit, allowing her easy access. She leaned into the door and pushed it open with her elbow, finding the chimera sitting at a table, poring over some papers.

“What do you have there, Mister Zelgadis?” she asked, using her foot to bring the door back to its previous position. He didn’t take his eyes off the paper in his hand until she put the tray down in a clear spot, rather surprised.

“What’s this for?” he wondered.

“I thought you’d like some; I knew you’d come up here to look at those papers you took from that one bandit, but I wasn’t sure if it was a Claire Bible Manuscript or not. It could take a while to figure it out, right?”

“Yes and no, but thank you.” He accepted a cup that she put some cream in for him, watching her put cream and sugar both in hers. “You would have definitely known if this was a copy of the Claire Bible. This looks like it’s only some clues as to where to find one.”

“Clues mean that there’s something out there though,” she offered. Amelia sat down at the table as well, taking in how peaceful it was. “Do you think it’s anything?”

“Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt to check anyhow,” he said. He took a sip of coffee and nodded. “Perfect; didn’t realize travelling with a princess meant I was travelling with a coffee expert.”

“Mom and Dad used to have coffee after dinner, when we’d all be in the study doing some work before bed,” she admitted. “My sister and I used to put it together for them… we got rather good at it.”

“I’ll definitely say.” He held up his cup in a toast before drinking some more. “How did your mother like her coffee?”

“Two scoops of sugar; my father still drinks it like that sometimes.” She smiled at that, bringing back memories she found too precious to let go. “He prefers it to be half cream though.”

“How does that not surprise me?” Zelgadis smirked. “Sugar?”

“Five spoons—he’s the worst!” Amelia groaned. She looked out the window at the colors painting the sky as the sun was setting and found herself incredibly at-ease. A moment and she glanced back over at Zelgadis, seeing that he was still concentrating on the papers. “Can I help with translating that?”

“Sure, why not?” He passed her a page and went back to work.

Not even two minutes later and the floor rumbled slightly, an explosion having taken place on the ground floor. The two looked at one another and instantly knew it was the bandits, having come to exact their revenge on Lina, and not wanting to take any prisoners.

Eh… she could handle it.


	3. Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1024 words; this one is a post-magic AU (think Onward); I feel like this is the start of a much larger story where the two fall legit in love, going through some cinematic hijinks, but alas a prompt has to end

Zel noticed that she came to the library regularly, the tiny woman who always left behind a large pile of political science texts. She’d come in, most often on Tuesdays and Thursdays—but sometimes Saturdays as well—and by the time his shift was done that night, she’d be almost drowning in her piles of books, reportedly not leaving until well into the night. He often had to shelve them the following day (and who else got so many books it filled an entire cart? It was pretty weird, even for a university that still held programs in magic theory) and before long, he had to ask.

“So… what _are_ you working on?”

She glanced up at him, blinking the tiredness from her eyes as they finally were not concentrated on page or screen. “Pardon me?”

“I’m sorry if I’m intruding, but I’ve noticed that those are all advanced-level books you’ve got, and I don’t remember you in the group of poli-sci students that came through on a tour,” he explained. It was late on a Saturday—few self-respecting university students were doing something as responsible as _studying_ and it left them the only ones in what was likely the entire wing. “Is this a master’s project?”

“Oh, yeah, it is,” the young woman nodded. She smiled at him happily. “You’re one of the librarians, aren’t you? I see you here a lot.”

“Sort of; I’m Zel, and I’m actually between programs. Working here keeps me charted in the school’s files for when I do start back up again.”

“I’m Amelia, and what were you in, Mister Zel? My grad work’s in poli-sci, but my undergrad was criminal justice.”

His uncles—who were very likely spying on them at that very moment—would have a field day if they knew that. “Criminal justice? Really? You don’t strike me as a cop.”

“I’m not.” Her tone was as cheery as her expression—she found absolutely no offense to take. “I know they’re not even in the same schools, but they’re what I need. You?” Zel hesitated for a moment, then broke.

“Magic,” he admitted. He glanced sideways and began to blush—gosh, it sounded so _weird_ telling someone he just met. “It’s mostly theoretical, but by the time I finished my third year of undergrad, they had us doing some simple spells.”

“If you do simple spells, then why… erm…” She paused, unable to find the words, and gestured at her face instead.

Oh.

Yeah… that wasn’t exactly something very simple and uncomplicated.

“Why do I look like this…?” She nodded, her turn to go red. “It was an accident… a long-winded one at that.”

“May I ask what kind of magic you’re focusing in?”

“Shamanism, mostly Spirit and Earth, with a bit of Dark; why?”

“I was just wondering if you had looked into any Light or Holy magic, since that was mostly used for healing and undoing other spells and accidents,” Amelia shrugged. Zel pulled out the seat next to her and sat down, more curious about her the more they talked.

“I’ve looked, but undoing chimera fusions aren’t in the same class as cauterizing wounds or replenishing blood lost after a battle with a Golden Dragon.”

“You’re right, it’s not, but I feel like there’s something that could at least help.”

It was very difficult, but Zel made sure he did not wear his disappointment on his face. Another person who never even looked into anything about magic, telling him all about how he can fix his situation, knowing the solutions he somehow overlooked. He shook his head and exhaled heavily.

“No—I’ve looked.”

“…but just in Atlas University, right?” He blinked at that.

“I’ve done distanced research—the internet is a thing, you know.”

“I was just thinking, since I transferred here from University of Seyruun, I know for a fact that many of their texts haven’t been digitized yet. It might be worth a shot if you ever end up there someday.”

Things began clicking into place: Amelia just transferred from the top university in the area for criminal justice to study in the best university in all the barrier states for political science. Add onto that what one could consider intimate knowledge of the state of Seyruun’s legendary library of holy texts without it being anywhere near her concentrations…

…could it…? …could she…?

“New Flagoon Polytechnic might have something too, now that you mention Seyruun,” he mused aloud. “Their archives are mostly digitized, but there might be something important that slipped by, something worth looking into…”

“That’s not New Flagoon’s concentration in the slightest,” Amelia huffed. “Their works are largely involving environmental magic, not interpersonal magic. Ours is much more extensive.”

“Bold words for someone with two very specific concentrations that aren’t magic-related,” Zel mentioned. She cringed—oh no. “Let your emotions get the best of you, _Princess Amelia d’Seyruun_?”

“How did you know?”

“I heard rumor that there was a member of a royal house that started classes here, but I didn’t expect it to be Seyruun. Atlas City must be very different.”

“Yes and no,” she said quietly. She seemed to draw herself inwards, unsure of how to steer the conversation from there. “You aren’t going to draw attention to me, are you?”

“I’m technically still on the clock, and you probably know how to fabricate charges, so no,” he replied. “Besides, why would I? It’d just cause you worry, and I’m very much not about making trouble for others unnecessarily…”

Amelia stared at him. “You paused.”

“I was thinking though: let me know when you’re headed back to Seyruun. If you’re as good at being undercover there as you are here, then maybe you can show me precisely what you mean when it comes to the manuscripts… as long as no one asks you questions, of course.”

“Are you implying I wouldn’t be able to keep a secret?”

“Possibly.”

She frowned at that. “Fine—I’ll show you. Meet me on the quad the night after the school closes for Zanaffar’een. I’ll show you who can keep a secret.”

Zel smiled inwardly—he played his hand perfectly.


	4. Bakery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 485 words; takes place some years post-EVOLUTION-R, post-admittance of feelings, post-a lot of things if we’re being really honest

Amelia woke to the warm and inviting smells that were permeating the room. The inn they were staying at had a bakery in the back, its entrance on the alley, and her room was directly above the part that housed the ovens. She lazed in bed, hands resting on either side of her head, and enjoyed the moment—there wasn’t many like them on the road, especially while on the road when the deep chill of autumn was more a preview of the winter to come.

A soft knock was at the door and Zelgadis came into the room. He walked over to her bedside and sat on the chair next to her bed, keeping his distance just in case there was an accidental intruder.

“We should get going soon,” he stated. “I’m here to escort the Seyruun Royal Ambassador to Lyzeille for the Vezendi Accords, remember? Or did you forget…?”

“Just because we’re having a nice time on the journey doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten,” she said. She reached out towards him and watched him hesitate for a moment, then taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. “My offer still stands—we don’t have to show up as princess and bodyguard.”

“Your grandfather will somehow be cured of all his ailments in order to murder me.”

“You say that with such seriousness,” she giggled. He shook his head and sighed.

“Only because it’s a better thought than the alternative of your father and uncle combining their resources to have me assassinated; now please hurry up.” He stood and leaned over her for a moment, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before turning to leave. “I want to be out of here within an hour.”

“Pushy, pushy,” she teased. He left, allowing her privacy as she readied herself for the day… not that she wanted any privacy… not when it came to him. She quickly dressed and packed her things, opening the door to her room to find Zelgadis’s back facing her—ah, “guarding” her room. A quick pat to his rear and she slipped past him.

“Hey! Don’t do that!” he scowled. “I’m just _doing my_ _job_.”

“You don’t need to do it _that well_ , Mister Zelgadis,” she smirked, taking the lead as they went down the stairs. According to all the other travelers who had stopped at the inn for the night, the two of them were merely a wandering priestess and sorcerer-swordsman, allowing wanderlust to take them wherever their fancy might lead; a decoy was headed to Lyzeille with all their official clothes and everything sans the most sensitive documents. It was still good for them to keep their veneer in public, however, despite how electric their light touches had become in recent months. They sat down at a table, with a waitress placing a small basket of fresh bread on the surface soon as they were settled.

“What’ll it be for breakfast?”


	5. Broom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1085 words; takes place during TRY as the gang’s trying to figure out wtf they’re doing outside the Barrier States; there is huge potential for a ton of story in here but for now I’m leaving it as is because dang

The bandits, despite being bandits, had been smarter than usual. However, despite their additional smarts, they were still bandits in the end, and were fairly easily dispatched with a bit of running around and effort. Sure, part of the town was demolished, but it wasn’t _completely_ their fault, which was better than most days, and the foreign travelers were going to take it.

“That was way too much work for what it was,” Lina admitted. She was standing on some rubble—the remnants of some roughshod attempt at a tank. “I’m just glad it’s over with.”

“You’re telling me,” Zelgadis replied. Half his shirt had been scorched off and Amelia was already casting a healing spell on his shoulder. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a normal person use a device that burns hotter than an average Fireball before.”

“Miss Lina does all the time with her normal Fireballs,” Amelia reminded him.

“I said ‘normal _person’_ ,” he emphasized. It was worth the glare he got from their friend—she was in a class of her own, odd technology or not.

“Hey, where’s the jellyfish-brain?” Lina wondered. “Gourry! Gourry! Come see Zel’s burn before it’s all healed!” She ignored the chimera’s grousing under his breath. “This doesn’t happen very often, I hope you know!”

“Lina! I’m over here!” The trio looked down the road to see Gourry walking up with some of what looked like the important members of the town. “These people were just teaching me some stuff about this place!”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lina deadpanned. She hopped down off the pile of rubble and approached the group. They all seemed… happy…? Huh… usually that wasn’t the case after a near-leveling of a town. “Now if this is about payment for getting rid of those bandits…”

“We are actually preparing the feast as we speak,” the eldest of the villagers said. “The celebration will be a grand one.”

“Great, but what about our reward?”

“We are poor folk, and it is not much, but we would like to start the happy couple off right as a thank you for saving what you could of our homes.”

“Happy couple…?” Lina blinked. She looked at Gourry and burst into laughter. “You can’t possibly mean…!”

“Yes, we do!” The village elder walked right past Lina to where Amelia was just finishing up the healing spell on Zelgadis, clapping a hand on a shoulder from each. “We saw you two during the battle! That was an incredibly brave and dedicated thing you two did.”

“Uuhhh, what did you see…?” Amelia wondered.

“Yeah, um… all we did was run around and fight those bandits,” Zelgadis said.

“When the two of you were running around, I saw what happened,” the elder explained. “The fact you did that in the middle of what could have been your final moments… it’s so heartwarming and inspiring!”

“What did we do…?” Amelia tried not to cringe as the elder stepped closer and held her hands in both of his; the act was one a parent might a child, yet the fact of the matter was that they barely even knew one another.

“We saw as the two of you ran, you held hands and jumped over a broomstick,” the elder said, tears forming in his eyes. “It was such a beautiful act, joining yourselves in the middle of battle like that, so much so that we can’t help but throw the feast to celebrate the wedding!”

Lina began cackling while Amelia and Zelgadis’s faces both went red in embarrassment. The elder went off with the rest of the villagers—presumably to wherever the party was being prepared—and left the travelers by themselves.

“I don’t get it,” Gourry said. “What just happened?”

“It looks like they do more things differently out here than we realized,” Lina smirked. “I guess holding hands while jumping over a broom is what you do to get married around here. Zel, Amelia, what were the two of you doing _holding hands_ while jumping over a broom?”

“I don’t know when we would have even done that, Miss Lina!” Amelia protested. “We were running around so much that…!”

“It was when I was pulling you towards the smith’s forge to duck behind their stone wall for a moment; there was a broom on the street that someone had dropped,” Zelgadis realized. He was standing there with an absolute dumbfounded look on his face, as though what had happened was still hitting him. “The old man’s right… we did do that.”

“You mean… we’re **_married_** now…?”

“…by the laws of this land, then it seems so.” Zelgadis and Amelia looked at one another with fear in their eyes. This was much more than a silly mishap on the road that could be laughed off later on, but something that had potentially disastrous implications. “Where did Filia say she went again? She can fix this.”

“Up ahead on the road to make sure the bridge still exists,” Lina said, “but don’t think you’re going to get out of this all that easily.”

“Miss Lina!” Amelia protested. She then brought her voice low, so that none of the villagers could hear. “I’m a _princess_ , remember? It doesn’t matter if Mister Zelgadis and I are just friends or madly in love or hate one another’s guts—this is a sham marriage and that could have _severe_ complications for the future!”

“As long as it doesn’t complicate my free all-you-can-eat buffet, I don’t care,” Lina scoffed. “Zel’s not that bad a guy—I can think of worse to ‘jump a broom’ with.”

“I don’t think you get it,” Zelgadis frowned. “Amelia goes back to Seyruun and she—unless this is straightened out very quickly—returns a married woman having _eloped_. No amount of ‘accident’ or ‘local misunderstanding’ is going to smooth that over.”

“I don’t know… Prince Phil would probably be very happy his daughter found someone,” Gourry mused. He was oblivious to the exasperation in his friends—of course he’d miss the point so crucially. “We know you get along with your father-in-law, Zel. Isn’t that what people hope for?”

“You’re hopeless,” Lina sighed, brushing off Gourry’s comment. She then turned to Amelia and Zelgadis, a greedy look in her eyes that made both of them cringe. “Now… let’s see what we can do to make _sure_ we get fed. If food’s our only reward, you better count on me eating as much as I possibly can.”

She truly was a cold-hearted devil.


	6. Forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 764 words; ehhh, I put this in NEXT somewhere in chronology; it probably reads best as a first realization of sorts, just because… well… yeah… we all know how this ship goes

Life was absolute _hell_.

Leaning up against a tree trunk, Zelgadis braced his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Of _course_ Lina had to go and cross a demon… a demon, right when they sounded like they might’ve had a lead on a Claire Bible Manuscript after so long without… and now they were fighting for their lives. One moment they were attempting to figure out how to get the Manuscript from a hermit, and the next they were running fast as they could, trying to stay one step ahead of a murderous demon ready to kill them for the fun of it. They had been separated, with Gourry losing himself first, then Lina, so that now it was just him and Amelia.

“Do you think we lost it?”

“I think so.” Zelgadis righted himself and scanned the surrounding trees for their pursuer. Everything was still quiet—nothing.

“I wonder what happened to the others… they were right behind us for a while.”

“That’s not our concern right now,” he said, “getting ahead of that demon is.”

“Yeah… hopefully it will just give up. It doesn’t seem like one used to dealing with people who know what they’re doing.”

“…which could be to our advantage, or not,” Zelgadis scowled, noting the unnatural hush that was still settled over the forest. “I don’t even hear Lina or Gourry—something’s wrong.” He looked at Amelia and saw the expression on her face seemed… off. It must have been unnerving her as well. “The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get on with finding where the demon hid the Manuscript.”

“You’re right,” she nodded. “We won’t get anywhere hiding like this—let’s find them.”

Zelgadis quietly picked up a pointed rock and cast a finder’s spell on it. They followed the point through some of the underbrush, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Before long, there was a rustling in the bushes, stopping them abruptly.

“I’m scared,” Amelia whispered. “We don’t know what the demon can do.”

“We’ll figure it out, just as we always have,” he said. She grabbed hold of his arm and he blushed slightly—it wasn’t like her to be this clingy, though part of him didn’t mind. The bushes rustled again, startling them.

“Do you think it’s the demon?” she wondered.

“It could be,” he replied. “It could just be we found Gourry…”

“…or Lina…”

The chimera froze. Amelia did not seem off because she was unnerved; she seemed so because the woman who was with him was _not Amelia._ His stomach dropped as he turned his head towards her, a confused look in her eyes, before he heard her voice coming from far away.

“Mister Zelgadis! Where’d you go?!”

In an instant, Zelgadis placed a hand on not-Amelia’s face, growling “Blam Blazer” with all the contempt he could muster. The ensuing spell killed the demon and the pallor over the forest dissipated, at which he jumped up and began to run in the direction of the real Amelia’s voice. Soon as he found her—looking around the forest in an effort to find him—he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, causing her to gasp in surprise.

“Oh! Mister Zelgadis! What’s this about?!” She realized that he wasn’t responding and relaxed into the hug, reciprocating best she could. “I take it you found the demon before me, huh?”

“It’s gone now—it better be gone.”

“Hey… it’s okay…” She patted him on the back in an attempt to comfort him. “I didn’t realize you were that worried about me.”

“I thought it was you next to me, until it wasn’t,” he admitted, “and then I didn’t know what that thing did to steal your face.”

“Stole whose face?”

Zelgadis and Amelia stepped away from one another very quickly as Lina interrupted them. She and Gourry were standing over by some nearby trees, staring at them; the latter was confused, while the former seemed disturbingly smug.

“The demon that was chasing us tried to trick me into thinking it was Amelia,” Zelgadis claimed. “I’m just glad it didn’t kill her.”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Lina smirked. “Let’s get back to the hut and search for that Manuscript before the two of you get cuddly again. Makes me wanna barf.”

“Miss Lina! It’s not like that and you know it!” Amelia protested. The group began the walk back towards where they had first encountered the demon, with the princess and chimera stealing glances at one another the entire way.

At least they were alive.


	7. Sunset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1021 words; I don’t even know when this takes place I’m just in such a shippy haze (other than I guess later on, because reasons), so I guess it can be some post-REVOLUTION-R adventure where they gotta just do their thing again; I actually can’t wait until this prompt fest is over because it’s been stoking the fire for some other Slayers stuff, so yeah, this particular prompt is one of them

They had stopped for the night, with Lina and Gourry getting wood for their campfire, while Zelgadis fished the stream and Amelia set up camp. The fire had already been started with the first round of firewood, meaning that now all Amelia had to do was wait for the flames to get sufficiently hot enough before she began skewering the fish that was being tossed into a mound away from the bank. It was about up to her knee now—it was a lot of fish.

“Do you think you have enough, Mister Zelgadis?” she asked.

“Knowing Lina and Gourry’s appetites? No.” He pulled another fish from the river and threw it on the pile. “I’m glad we’re at least sane.”

“Yeah—I know what you mean,” she half-laughed. Amelia watched as he muttered a luring spell on the line and cast it back into the river. She nearly looked away, though the light of the setting sun caught her attention as it bounced off his skin. It glinted dazzlingly, catching what looked like flecks of gemstone in his face and neck. His steel hair shone as well, adding to the ethereal quality about him. He noticed she was staring and turned towards her, blinking curiously.

“What?” he asked. She blushed as she quickly looked away in embarrassment. They were friends, yeah, but what she saw presented possibilities much more than that, which was something she was not used to thinking in the company of others. Thoughts entertained in private were precisely that, and the fact she slipped sent a shiver down her spine.

“Uh… nothing…!” He returned his line of sight towards the water, growing quiet. The only sound between them was the river in front of them and the birds above.

“I don’t blame you for staring,” he said. “It’s okay.”

“No, I… it’s not like that,” Amelia said. She stole a glance at Zelgadis, the melancholic expression he wore breaking her heart.

“It’s easy to stare, even if you don’t mean it,” he said. “I know you don’t normally, and I appreciate it. Truly.”

“Mister Zelgadis, it’s not like that,” she affirmed.

“Then how is it?”

“It’s just…” She turned towards him again, this time, their eyes making contact. Everything about him seemed to dazzle and gleam, despite his outward emotions. “I’ve never paid attention to you in this light.”

He blinked in confusion. “What…?”

“I’ve never seen the light hit you like this, Mister Zelgadis.” She sat down next to him and gently touched his face—warm like a stone left to bake in the sun. “I don’t know if there’s a word to describe you.”

“I would say ‘monster’ or ‘freak’.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘gorgeous’,” she clarified. He blushed even stronger as his face changed from morose to a combination of shock and awe, with a hint of mortification. After swallowing hard, his voice cracked as he realized what was going on, everything crashing over him in a sort of delayed reaction.

“ ** _What_** …?”

Amelia took her had back and her own face flushed hot. Her heart began beating faster and she could hear it in her ears—he was completely floored by her admittance. She saw him put down the fishing pole out of the corner of her vision and gulped; what had she done?

“You really mean that?” he wondered.

“Well… yeah…” she shrugged, attempting to seem nonchalant about it. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

“I just didn’t think…” He placed his hand on hers, curling his fingers around her palm and knuckles. “I just didn’t think I’d be so lucky.”

“…how…?”

He took his other hand and gently turned her face back towards him, resuming eye contact. “That the very thing I think of every time I see you in this light, you would ever think about me.”

… _oh_ …

“Mister Zelgadis, I…!” Amelia choked on her words as she attempted to process his. “You never said anything.” She held his hand properly, threading their fingers together.

“I’m not what Seyruun wants or needs,” he stated solemnly. “I could kill you.”

“We don’t know that. Besides, my sister is Dad’s heir, not me.”

“…and where is she?” Rhetorical, not accusatory. “Your grandfather had no siblings, nor his mother, nor her father, and before that is when you start getting messy infighting and locking people out of line to the throne. If she doesn’t show up one day, then you’re it.”

“…and what does that have to do with anything?” she asked sweetly. “You’re a good man, Mister Zelgadis, and that’s all Seyruun could ever want or need… it’s everything _I_ could ever want or need…”

“You’re not listening, Amelia: _I can’t_. This isn’t some made-up stuff that’s all in my head. I’m not…” He withdrew his hand and collected himself. “I never thought you’d ever think the same way about me because if you hadn’t said something just now, then I would have been prepared to stand fully aside as you found someone else to love and became Queen of Seyruun.” He picked up the fishing rod again and silently cast a new luring spell. “Honestly, I still am.”

They sat like that for a while, Zelgadis pulling fish from the river while Amelia sat by his side. She picked at her fingernails as she contemplated it all. After leaning over, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood, turning back towards the fire. It was finally beginning to grow and would likely support their cooking needs within minutes.

“We’ll talk about this later, alright?” she offered, “when Miss Lina and Mister Gourry aren’t liable to interrupt.”

“…okay.”

As he threw another fish into the pile, he glanced back at Amelia, seeing that she was beginning to skewer some of the evening’s catch. She seemed almost too calm, too sure of herself, giving him a quick glance as Lina and Gourry both came traipsing back, arms full of fallen twigs and dead branches. Nothing was mentioned again for the rest of the night, despite the tension in the air that only Amelia and Zelgadis could sense.


	8. Pumpkin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 560 words; I know I’m a little late in posting it, but at least I finished it all within a month’s time, which is good enough for me; takes place mid-REVOLUTION/R; not super-AmeZel, but enough I tell you

It was honestly the biggest piece of produce any of them had ever seen. The giant gourd sat in the middle of the road, blocking the five travellers’ path.

“This wasn’t here last time,” Pokota frowned. “I know all the roads to Taforashia well—this is new.”

“Then the question should be ‘how are we going to get around it’,” Lina replied.

“You don’t want to know how it got here or why?” Zelgadis deadpanned. He watched as Lina inspected both ends, trying to see if they could squeeze around it thanks to the narrow gorge their path was in.

“Nope—don’t care!” the sorceress declared. “Alright Gourry, prepare for takeoff!”

“Wait a moment, Lina,” Gourry said. “Zel’s right: it’s suspicious.”

“…and who are you going to listen to? The gorgeous, intelligent, beguiling, talented beauty before you, or the stone schmuck over there?”

Gourry paused, considering his options, which made Lina groan.

“You really have to think about that?!” she snapped.

“Miss Lina, if Mister Gourry has reason to take pause, then maybe we should,” Amelia added. Their friend fumed, not liking where the conversation was going.

“I don’t care—I’m going up anyhow,” Lina grumbled. She cast Ray Wing and floated over the pumpkin… only to hit a tripwire, which set off a bomb, decking her square in the face.

“Told you,” Zelgadis, Gourry, and Amelia said as Lina fell to the ground. Pokota snickered—served her right in his eyes.

“I don’t like this,” Zelgadis stated. “Let’s just go and find another path.”

“You’re seriously letting a _pumpkin_ beat you?!” Lina snorted. The chimera stared flatly at her before turning and beginning to walk away. “Hey?! What’s that look for?!”

“It’s not the pumpkin, but the threat around it,” he replied. “Come on, Amelia, let’s go.”

“Coming, Mister Zelgadis!” she said cheerily. Amelia jogged up to his side, leaving the other three to themselves. “Do you think that they’ll be alright?”

“I’d rather not think about it,” he replied. There was another explosion behind them and the pair kept on walking. “I think I saw a different path branch off about a mile back.”

“At least that’s not too bad,” she shrugged. “I feel bad for Mister Gourry though, getting stuck between Miss Lina and Mister Pokota.”

“He knows what he’s doing.”

“It’s _Mister Gourry_ … are you sur—oh!”

Amelia gasped as Zelgadis pushed her, before laying down himself so that he covered—though not crushed—her body. She heard clacking and hollow, wooden sounds above them, though it did not change the fact she was nestled firmly underneath him, in a rather embarrassing manner.

“Ah! You’re quick!” a new voice laughed. Zelgadis stood, helping Amelia up as well. They were surrounded by bandits, with discarded arrows littering the ground around them—thwarted by the fact one of them had skin of stone.

“I think we found the source of the pumpkin mystery,” Amelia noted.

“I think you’re right,” Zelgadis replied. They stood back-to-back, confident where they stood despite having the low ground. “Do we have time before Lina gets frustrated and Dragon Slaves the entire area? There seems to be a group of someones who need to be taught an additional lesson.”

“Yeah? And what can the two of you do?” the bandit leader chortled. Amelia cracked her knuckles, while Zelgadis readied a spell.

A lot, actually.


End file.
